Factions and Characters, Is My Neutral Alignment This Weak

While everyone was tidying up,

Mo Shangying had already set up the "map" on the table.

The props, items, cards, and so on were all custom-made.

On the small table...

There were mountains, rivers, cities, and fortresses;

There were chariots, horses, weapons, and supplies!

Everything you could think of—and things you couldn’t—were all there!

According to the rules Mo Shangying explained, before everyone drew their identity cards,

they first had to undergo a "faction selection"!

Aside from Mo Shangying herself, who would act as the game master and not participate in the competition,

the remaining sixteen players would be divided into four different factions:

Wei, Shu, Wu, and Neutral.

Lin Yu: "..."

Are we sure this isn’t just [a certain popular card game] rebranded as "Fractured Three Kingdoms"?

Trying to get rave reviews, huh?

As everyone drew their faction cards,

Ying'er began explaining the initial rewards each faction received:

"Everyone, please check your faction cards and take your assigned seats."

"The Wei faction will start the game with double the gold and supplies compared to other factions."

"The Shu faction will begin with a defensive item: 'Towering Mountains and Steep Peaks.'"

"The Wu faction will receive a special combat unit: the 'Naval Fleet.'"

"As for the Neutral faction... unfortunately, you start with nothing."

Lin Yu listened carefully to Ying'er's explanation,

then glanced at the faction card in his hand.

Lin Yu: "..."

[Neutral Faction]!

So, nothing at all?

This is like playing a mobile game where watching a 30-second ad unlocks god-tier gear,

but you refuse to watch it and still try to play!

Unable to hold back, Lin Yu complained:

"Ying'er, isn’t this game mechanic a bit unbalanced?"

"Doesn’t the Neutral faction start at a huge disadvantage compared to Wei, Shu, and Wu?"

"How are we supposed to compete for dominance when we’re just gonna get stomped?"

Ying'er, looking completely confident, smiled and said:

"The mechanics are balanced—I just haven’t finished explaining yet..."

"The Neutral faction has two playstyles. One is to band together and become a fourth force vying for supremacy."

"The other is to freely join any of the three main factions. Each Neutral player can make their own choice."

Shen Buyao, the "antique sister," raised her hand and said:

"But that still doesn’t count as a reward for us Neutrals, right?"

"Isn’t it just giving us the option to either go independent or become someone else’s lackey?"

"Aren’t Wei, Shu, and Wu still ridiculously OP?" (She almost said "strong as f—" but quickly corrected herself.) "...strong as—as hell!"

Ying'er continued:

"Not necessarily. Their strength is only surface-level."

"During the Three Kingdoms era, aside from external wars, there were also internal conflicts and factional strife."

"So, among the four players in each of the Wei, Shu, and Wu factions, there is one traitor."

"The traitor’s faction card has two stars, while non-traitor roles have one."

"Please check your own faction cards carefully, and don’t let others see how many stars you have."

"For the traitor to win, they must not only work with their faction to eliminate the other factions,"

"but also ensure they’re sitting on the 'throne' by the end."

"Sometimes, for personal victory, they may even need to spare a dying faction at a critical moment."

"Players in the Wei, Shu, and Wu factions must not only strategize to defeat the other two kingdoms and recruit Neutral players,"

"but also be wary of the traitor seizing power and do their best to expose them before the game ends!"

"So? Still think Wei, Shu, and Wu are overpowered?"

After hearing the full pre-game explanation, Lin Yu actually felt a bit more excited about this game.

No wonder it was a fusion of dozens of different games.

Before even starting, they’d already witnessed "Three Kingdoms Werewolf: Conqueror’s Edition."

Plus, he’d already confirmed one teammate—Shen Buyao, the antique sister!

Soon,

everyone rearranged their seating based on their faction cards and found their teammates for the first round.

[Neutral Faction]:

Huang Feirong, Shen Buyao, Lin Yu, Ye Mengfu

(The queen of dirty jokes, antique sister, Lin Yu, socially awkward little Fufu)

[Shu Faction]:

Chen Qimeng, Chi Qingshui, Tang Yimian, Xia Xiashan

(Aunt Qimeng, tsundere girlfriend, Teacher Tang, museum curator sister)

[Wei Faction]:

Du Ruxue, Mao Ruirui, Chang Xiaoxiao, Fang Xinran

(Aunt Ruxue, pet shop owner, pet shop employee, dark humor sister)

[Wu Faction]:

Xia Yiwei, Maomao, Chi Qingchi, Shen Jiuyi

(Nurse sister, battle-crazed cat, foodie shut-in, fortune-teller sister)

Once the factions were settled, everyone gathered around the table in four groups,

with teammates from the same faction sitting together in rows.

Next up—

drawing character cards.

Given the Three Kingdoms setting, Lin Yu naturally assumed the roles would be the usual suspects:

Zhuge Liang, Lü Bu, Zhou Yu, Liu Bei... and so on.

But when the Wei faction players drew their cards and revealed them, Lin Yu was stunned.

What the—what kind of roles are these?!

Du Ruxue: [Tomb Raider]!

Mao Ruirui: [Plague Mother]!

Chang Xiaoxiao: [Banished Immortal General]!

Fang Xinran: [Supernatural Assassin]!

Everyone at the table: "???"

Among these four "exceptionally rare talents," the most normal-sounding one was Aunt Ruxue’s [Tomb Raider]—

at least that seemed to fall within the realm of mortals.

The others...

Where did these absurd character cards even come from?!

Ying'er reminded them:

"Please hold onto your character cards. Teammates can quietly discuss their skills among themselves."

"You can reveal your skills to other factions if you want, or keep them a mystery."

"Because in every new game, the skills tied to each role will change!"

Lin Yu: "!!!"

At this point, Lin Yu wasn’t doubting whether Ying'er’s board game was playable.

Instead, he was amazed by her creativity and design skills.

The fact that character skills could vary between games introduced an entirely new layer of complexity.

Maintaining balance under such conditions required an exponential increase in calculations and forethought!

No wonder she was a true genius hacker—only someone like her could pull off such an intricate game design.

This clearly wasn’t just random nonsense!

Without realizing it,

Lin Yu began feeling a flicker of anticipation for his own character.

Finally,

after the Wei, Shu, and Wu factions had drawn their roles,

it was time for the Neutral faction’s four players to pick their character cards.

Ye Mengfu went first. She drew a card, glanced at it,

then hesitantly revealed it to the group...

Lin Yu: "???"

[Non-Selling Songstress]!

...

(First update of the day—sorry for the late post! Will work hard to finish the next two chapters. Hope you’ll support with your love and encouragement!)